4 Weeks to Wed
by bella.breen
Summary: -Preview chapters only. Read the rest on my website- Mr. Darcy finds out he has 4 weeks to wed or lose all his Darcy inheritance. Poor Mr. Darcy.
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE 11/3

Wow. Looks like there a large contingent of readers that found some Regency things wrong. Which is good because I want to know so I can fix them.

For those that won't read any of my stories or buy books because they must be as horrible as these two chapters are so far, you can read my previous stories for free on www dot bellabreen dot com. They do not have gigantic plot holes or even small ones.

I can say I have never received reviews like I have for this one.

* * *

Mr. Darcy worked on business in his study, but was interrupted by Mr. Agnew. The footman brought in the day's mail on a silver tray.

"Thank you."

Nothing looked unexpected until he got to the letter from his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Mr. Darcy sighed as he expected the same pleas he always received. That his aunt would ask when he would visit Rosings Park, why he would not visit her more than once a year, and when would he honor the engagement set between his mother and Aunt regarding his marriage to Anne de Bourgh.

Mr. Darcy had never found any documentation of the supposed engagement and he had looked. He was quite sure that his aunt made up this engagement after his own mother died. Either she wanted to live at Pemberley or, and this was more likely, there were no suitors for his cousin Anne and therefore he was the only person left to force into a marriage with her. Of course there was his cousin Col. Fitzwilliam, but he was in the military and would be gone often. Anne was so sickly that she could not travel with Col. Fitzwilliam. So Mr. Darcy was the lucky unmarried cousin who was the focus of Lady Catherine's attention.

Mr. Darcy picked up the letter from his aunt and opened it. Mr. Darcy's heart rate suddenly spiked, and he sat forward in his chair. He laid the letter on his desk and reread it again more slowly. "That isn't possible!"

He read it again. Then he read it a third time.

Dearest nephew,

I do not understand why you have not posted the banns for your engagement to your cousin, Anne. You know that you must marry her by you turn thirty or you will lose all that was entailed with the Darcy line. I am sure you are well acquainted with your own a birthdate. The only question is where banns will be read. They need to be read in the church in which you will be getting married. Unless you have procured a special license, in which the banns are not needed to be read. I expect that you have procured a special license for this wedding as it would not do to have the granddaughter of an Earl to be married without one. You must start to make arrangements for this wedding or I will.

With love,

Lady Catherine de Bourgh

That was completely and utterly preposterous. There was no stipulation on the entailment. There could not possibly be one as he would have been informed of it. However, he had only been ten when his father died. He had never actually looked at the will since then.

Mr. Darcy stood, turned to the wall behind him and pulled a certain book. There was a click then Mr. Darcy swung out the middle section of the bookcase. Behind it was a safe built into the wall. Mr. Darcy turned the dial several times then opened the safe. He shuffled through the boxes and documents then pulled out a black packet.

He sat down at his desk, opened the packet and pulled out the papers. The packet contained his father's will and a document that was much older than his father's will. Mr. Darcy moved his desk lamp closer. He slowly read the flowery script in his father's will which stated nothing about his son having to marry by a certain age to inherit. He then pulled the much older document forward. This paper detailed the requirements of inheriting Pemberley, the other Darcy properties and financials. And he found it. He did indeed have to marry by the time he reached his thirtieth birth date it or he would lose everything.

Mr. Darcy sat back in his chair speechless. How could no one have told him about this stipulation until now? Why did his aunt wait until it was four weeks until his thirtieth birthday? He had four weeks to wed. Mr. Darcy stood up and paced his study. He grabbed the letter, will and the writ of entailment. Everything looked legitimate. He tugged at his hair.

He had four weeks to marry somebody. At this point he could not hold out to marry for love anymore. He had to just marry someone he could love at some point, but at the least someone he could tolerate. Mr. Darcy groaned as he realized this task would be nearly impossible. "And that is why my aunt waited until now to inform me of this stipulation that she kept to herself for decades."

Lady Catherine had wanted him to marry her daughter, Anne. Now she thought she had finally forced him to marry his cousin. He had four weeks to marry someone or he would lose everything. His aunt must be sure that he would marry Anne instead of recklessly finding someone in four weeks. Well, he had no plans to marry his cousin. She had been sickly her entire life and would unable to be a proper wife for anyone. Not that he had anything against the infirm and ill. If he had a choice, he would rather have a healthy wife than one that was so sickly he was not sure how much she actually walked on her own.

The first thing he would do would be to write the law firm and verify the stipulation as well as why he was never informed. Someone from that law firm had to have told his aunt while he was a minor. His aunt did this on purpose. He derided his thirtieth birthday now more than ever. "Blast and damnation!"

—

Instead of waiting for a letter to reach the law firm and then for a letter to travel back Mr. Darcy decided to travel to the law firm in London himself. If this entailment was indeed accurate, he surely did not want to waste weeks waiting for letters. Mr. Darcy left his study and went straight to the music room where his sister Georgiana loved to spend her time.

"Brother, I am so glad you came to hear me. What is wrong?"

Mr. Darcy was sure he looked fierce but it could not be helped. "Georgiana, Lady Catherine has just sent me a letter that contains information that I need to verify with our law firm in London. It is of the utmost importance and speed. Can you be ready to leave in two hours?"

Georgiana sat at the pianoforte like a statue. Her brother had never done anything rash in his life. Now he planned to leave for London in two hours?

"But what could…"

"I do not want to tell you until I verify that this information is accurate. Call your maid to quickly pack your things. I have to meet with my steward and Mrs. Reynolds and then we will leave." Mr. Darcy strode quickly from the music room.


	2. Chapter 2

AUTHOR'S NOTE 11/3

Wow. Looks like there a large contingent of readers that found some Regency things wrong. Which is good because I want to know so I can fix them.

For those that won't read any of my stories or buy books because they must be as horrible as these two chapters are so far, you can read my previous stories for free on www dot bellabreen dot com. They do not have gigantic plot holes or even small ones.

I can say I have never received reviews like I have for this one.

* * *

Mr. Darcy and Georgiana rode in the carriage with four outriders overnight to London. Mr. Darcy would have never put his sister, or himself, through that unless time was of the essence. With four weeks, now nine and twenty days left, there was no time to spare. He was tired and grumpy but worse he had barely slept at all. The rocking motion of the carriage put Georgiana to sleep, she rested her head on his arm, but he could not sleep. He did not want to admit how scared and worried he was over losing everything. What would he do then? Where would they live? What would happen to Georgiana, the staff and tenants?

Mr. Darcy jumped out of the carriage at his townhouse in London. He could not appear at the law firm with the dust and wrinkled clothes from travel. Plus, he did not want Georgiana to witness him stressed beyond measure if what his aunt stated was indeed accurate. A quick change of clothes, a fast dinner and he was off to the law firm. He rode a horse as it would be much faster than taking the carriage through the London traffic. It was not common to see a member of the gentry riding horseback through London, however at this moment Mr. Darcy did not care. He arrived at the law firm the Darcys had used for decades and paid a street urchin to watch his horse.

He strode into the law firm of Dewey Cheetum and Howe and asked the secretary to see Mr. Dewey immediately on a matter of grave importance. Mr. Darcy sat on a chair in the waiting area for a few minutes until he could not do so any longer and stood up to pace. Finally the door to Mr. Dewey's office opened and the previous client left. Mr. Darcy walked into Mr. Dewey's office.

Mr. Darcy opened the packet and handed the legal documents to Mr. Dewey. "My aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, just wrote and informed me that there was a stipulation upon the Darcy entailment. Namely, that I must wed by my thirtieth birthday or I shall be disinherited."

Mr. Dewey's eyebrows rose. "Yes, I distinctly remember speaking with her at your father's funeral and telling her that." At this confirmation Mr. Darcy's eyes widened. "I sent her all the pertinent information and stated she must tell you when you reach the age of majority. No one would want you to be disinherited."

Mr. Darcy flattened his lips and looked at the wall so Mr. Dewey did not think his ire was directed at him.

Mr. Dewey cleared his throat. "I do not want to speak ill of anyone, least of all the Lady Catherine de Bourgh, however am I to assume this is the first you have heard of this stipulation?"

Mr. Darcy nodded. He was going to lose everything in nine and twenty days if he did not marry someone. There was a good chance, no a high chance he would not marry for love but just for tolerable companionship. If he was even that lucky. He might remotely tolerate his wife. It would be a prison term for the rest of his life. Blast his aunt!

"Let me pull out the letter that I sent to your aunt." Mr. Dewey spoke to a law clerk and then walked back into the room. Mr. Darcy was offered tea and biscuits while he waited. He was so stressed that the biscuits tasted like ash. The law clerk came back with a folder he handed to Mr. Dewey. He opened the folder to a marker. "Yes here it is."

Mr. Dewey pulled the letter and handed it to Mr. Darcy. It was addressed to his aunt and postmarked soon after his father had died. It did indeed contain all the information that would have been good for him to have known years ago. The only item in the letter that he had never been told was the first point in the letter. That he had to be wed by the day he turned thirty.

Mr. Darcy clenched his jaw and handed the letter back. His aunt had indeed done this on purpose. It was only after his father died that he had heard his aunt mention that Anne and he had been engaged as infants. Did his aunt think of this scheme to get her hands on Pemberley? Or to make sure her daughter had a husband, someone to care for her for the rest of her life?

Mr. Darcy stood with his legal documents, nodded to Mr. Dewey and walked out of the law firm. He was too angry to speak sensibly at the moment. He rode through London aimlessly then through Hyde Park and back towards the Darcy townhouse. Except he passed the townhouse and rose a few blocks further to the Matlock house where his aunt and uncle lived. If there was someone that could help him find a suitable wife in less than four weeks, it would be his aunt.

—-

"My dear Mrs. Bennet, you will need to tell Cook to set the table for an extra place tonight for supper."

"Oh Mr. Bennet you are a sly one. You did not tell me that Mr. Bingley would be coming for supper. I will have cook make her fabulous pheasant. I daresay that will be as good as any of the French chefs-"

"Mrs. Bennet, you misunderstood me. It is not Mr. Bingley that will be arriving for supper." Mr. Bennet said nothing else as he loved to tease his wife.

"Who is coming to supper?"

All the girls paid rapt attention to Mr. Bennet who greatly enjoyed this game of his. He stood by the fireplace and rocked back and forth. "It is a man I have not seen in my entire life."

The girls looked at each other confused. Mrs. Bennet was also confused. "Why have you invited someone to supper if you have never met?"

Mr. Bennet answered his wife. "It is a man that you have disliked since you heard of the entailment of Longbourn to Mr. Collins."

Mrs. Bennet stood. "Why did you invite that odious man here! You know I do not like that he is going to steal this house out from under your daughters. We will be thrown out into the hedgerows with nowhere to- "

"Mama! You know Mr. Collins has nothing to do with the entailment." Elizabeth tried to reason with her mother but it was usually a lost cause.

"I believe Mr. Collins intends to join us as an olive branch of peace between our families. I have the distinct impression that he hopes to marry one of you to further amend the breach."

The Bennet girls looked at each other but it was Lydia who spoke. "How exciting! I sure hope he is quite handsome."

Kitty joined her. "I hope he comes in a red coat. I do love a man in a red coat."

Lydia held Kitty's hands. "But not as good-looking as Mr. Denny!" The girls hummed to each other and then giggled.

Elizabeth sighed at her two youngest sisters and then looked at Mr. Bennet. "Mr. Collins stated that he would choose one of us to marry? He does not seem sensible to decide upon a wife before having met us. What kind of man do you make of him?"

Mr. Bennet rocked back and forth and smiled. "He did indeed state that. And I imagine that he is a very silly man. I look forward to his arrival today."

Mrs. Bennet having heard that the odious Mr. Collins intended to marry one of her daughters, changed her mind to being quite fond of Mr. Collins. She had five daughters to marry off, and no one had better interfere in that goal. Mr. Collins had better marry one of her daughters or they would face her wrath.


End file.
